The Beginning, the Middle, and the End
by Endless Retribution
Summary: Sakura Haruno, the last survivor of the Fourth Great Shinobi War, lives on. In a twist of fate, she is sent back in time to answer her deepest desires. But what happens when her desires change? Time-Travel Fic. Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

Hey. This is my first FF on this site so please bear with me... Other than that, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Also, the plot and any OC characters belong to me.

In the depths of some barren and desolate land, only the strong will survive. The bravest, the most cunning, the most powerful. Yet in the land that bore nothing more than trees infected with the most severe cases of arthritis, with soil that cracked and separated like a never ending spider web, and wind whistling through the shriveled branches of barren bushed, a single blossom bloomed.

It hurt.

It hurt to move, to breath, to think. There she lay, among hundred of thousands of bodies, blood smeared across her face, drowning in the scarlet liquid.

It was too late. There was no hope for the Allied Shinobi Forces. Naruto was dead, Sasuke was dead, Kakashi was dead, Tsunade was dead. Shikamaru, Neji, Sai, Ino, Hinata, Tenten. Everyone.

Haruno Sakura stared up at the sky through her one good eye. Her other was sealed shut, swelling. Her right arms was missing, torn off by a well, or poorly, aimed splinter. The ground was cracked and saturated with the blood of the fallen shinobi. The clearing was silent, all life gone. The sky, once as blue as Naruto's eyes, was a deep blood red.

Red as the blood that pooled around her.

Red as the fury, hopelessness, anguish, frustration that burned like a furnace within her.

The Rabbit Goddess won out in the end. Madara died for her plans, destroying the lives of thousands, millions. All for nothing. He, too, was now in the pits of hell.

There was no hope.

Sakura coughed heavily, blood spewing past her lips to join the growing puddle she lay in. A suffocating silence hung over the destroyed clearing. No one uttered a single thing. There was no one to say anything to.

Only Sakura remained.

And she would soon die, just like the rest of them, fighting in a futile war where the only victor was Death.

The kunoichi felt tears streaming down her face, clearing a path through the dried blood.

All she could think about were the what ifs.

What if she had been able to save Naruto and Sasuke and Kakashi and Sai and Ino and Tsunade and -

What if she had been able to stop Sasuke from leaving all those long years ago. To stop him from killing Itachi, to _save_ Itachi from the fate that was never meant from him.

What if Obito hadn't died. What if Rin hadn't died, and the vagabond Uchiha had not gone mad with revenge.

What if Madara had not been swayed by the Black Zetsu to seek power, to seek eternity.

What if-

No. Now...

Kakashi should have lived. He should have grown old with them, lived a long life surrounded by his friends and students. So then maybe, just maybe, they could get him to stop standing in from of that accursed memorial for hours, and hours, and hours, in rain, snow, or shine. Now, he lay dead, mask burnt off, heart missing from his chest, Shringan eye missing, and his own eye staring blankly up at the sky.

Sai, he should have lived. He would have learned so much more about social interactions. Sakura would have helped him. He would still be awkward and blunt, but he would be alive and a part of Team 7. Now, he was another body in the mass that was smashed as the Ten Tails had released a tailed beast bomb.

Sasuke should be there. They finally teamed up. They were finally reunited. They could have returned to Konoha whole again, but now, he lay beside Naruto, cold as his heart once was with a tanto through his forehead, eyes plucked out of his skull like grapes.

Naruto should have survived. He should have become the greatest Hokage Konoha had ever seen. Team 7 would have been whole again. Sakura would have supported him through everything. No, he lies dead, eyes forever empty as he stared at the blood stained sky, blood trailing down his chin.

Sakura cried. She cried for what could have been, what should have been, what had happened, and all the times she could have helped.

Now, she was alone, surrounded only be the bodies, blood, and memories of her life.

And she cried for it.

She gave another sputtering cough. Her time drew near. Soon, she would join her friends and family, away from the accursed earth that was now stained with the lives of millions.

It was the end of life. It was the end of sound, end of hope, end of the world as they knew it.

It was the end. It was the beginning of the end. It was everything in between. There was no future, there is no present, and there is no past.

Sakura let her eyes slip closed, feeling the pain of every breath tear through her body. Her heart fluttered weakly, pathetically, as she bled out. Her mouth was dryer than Suna, her head was spinning faster than Kiba and Akamaru (both who lay buried under the earth), and she gave up. Bright light shone through her eye lids, but she did not have the energy to open them. She took her last shuddering breath, cried her last, tiny tear, and her stopped.

And so, Haruno Sakura, the lone survivor of the Fourth, and Last, Great Shinobi War, died.

And the world was engulfed in silence.


	2. Chapter 2

The Beginning.

There was the sound of a trickle. Slow, soothing, quiet. Gentle.

Sakura awoke in shock, eyes flying open, adrenaline coursing through her veins. She should be dead, she should not be breathing, she should not be able to move-

Stabbing pain shot through her body, beginning at her feet.

Never mind. She couldn't move.

She let out a pained groan, every breath was labored, every twitch set her nerves on fire. Her sense slowly trickled back, beginning with the sounds of her own pumping blood, followed by the feeling of the cold, damp ground beneath her. Sakura struggled, wincing at the sandpaper feeling of her lids cracking open.

She gasped.

The sky was _blue._

Blue like the color of the water in Konoha on a spring day.

Blue like Naruto's eyes.

Blue like her tears.

Sakura fought her way into a sitting position.

It was then she noticed her right arm was back where it belonged, reattached to her shoulder. She flexed her fingers experimentally, eyes wide with wonder, amazement, and fear.

Where was she and what happened? Did someone save her? Was anyone else alive?

Her eye bad eye was suddenly alright; she could see through both. She glanced around the clearing, scanning the dense forest of thick, tall trees that towered over the small clearing where she sat.

There was not logical explanation for the reason she was suddenly alive, for why she could suddenly move, f _or why she was untouched._

Her clothes were in tatters, ripped, torn, and burnt, reflecting her injuries – or rather – where her injuries should have been. Underneath the fabric, her skin was unmarred, devoid of the scars that she had accumulated from the war and over the years. Her hair, while still short, fell neatly around her face, clean, silky, not indicating the days of hard fighting. Her chakra, while present, was nearly empty, which was to be expected. However, she lacked the rest of her supplies, ranging from her typical gloves to the weapons pouch she carried.

What had happened?

There was a gentle sound of rushing water in the distance, possibly from a small creek or river. Blinking away her confusion, the medic clambered to her feet, staggering in the sudden loss of blood from her head. Resting her hand on a nearby tree, she steadied herself before limping off to the direction the sound was coming from.

The forest was dead silent, with only the sounds of her feet hitting the forest floor as she slowly made her way to the river. Not a single bird, cricket, or leaves seemed to sound. It was as if she were in a vacuum; there was nothing, save for the trickle of water.

And she knew silence. There was silence in the aftermath of a fierce battle, when all the birds disappeared and the animals fled the scene. There was silence in the wake of destruction. There was silence in death.

As she drew near, more sounds reached her ears. Sounds that mirrored the clashing of kunai and the roar of chakra.

"I-impossible… everyone is dead… Kaguya killed everyone…" she gasped to herself, moving just a little bit faster.

Hope bubbled, pushing her faster through the trees. Her feet shuffled along the ground as she rushed towards the sounds. The edge of the tree line broadened in her line of vision, and the sounds of fighting drew closer. Sakura, unable to contain her desperate joy, let a smile break across her face. Maybe it was Naruto. Maybe it was Sai. Maybe it was Kakashi, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Yamato-taicho, Hinata-.

Her thoughts were interrupted with the familiar sound of metal flying through the air. Metal gleamed, and she barely managed to dodge a kunai flung her direction. Staggering, she caught herself against a tree, eyes wide with surprise. Peering through the leaves, she let out a gasp of horror.

There, eyes blazing but surprisingly devoid of the cursed eyes, was Madara Uchiha, very much alive, angry, and younger than what she remembered.

In fact, there was someone else with him. A face she recognized immediately.

How could she not, when it loomed over the cliff of her home.

"H-Hashirama Senju…" she whispered.

No longer was his skin cracked or his sclera dark, indicating an extended reanimation. Instead, he seemed as alive as she were. Shockingly, his hair was short, styled in a bowl cut.

In fact, both persons lacked their distinctive battle outfits, and if Sakura were to venture a wild guess, they seemed to be around 10 to 12 years old.

"Who are you? Are you a spy? Why are you trespassing on these grounds?" Younger Madara demanded, kunai held up and pointed at her general direction.

"H-hey now. Don't be hasty. She doesn't look like a threat." Hashirama interjected.

Sakura could barely contain her surprise. Standing in front of her were two legends, one that founded her village and the other that destroyed it. Yet, here they were, as children, acting as if the end of the world did not happen. They were friends.

"Well? What are you doing here?" Madara demanded.

Time travel.

No it was impossible. She was supposed to have died. There was no reason for her to be sent back to the past…

Unless she could change it.

She was suddenly snapped from her thoughts when a figure blurred towards her. Her instincts kicked in and before she could stop herself, the kunai Madara held was twisted against his own throat, tip hovering dangerously close to his exposed neck as she held him, face pressed into the dirt ground.

"Hey! Let him go!" Hashirama cried out in anger, wood springing up around him.

"Woah! Wait! I'm not here to attack you!" Sakura exclaimed, letting Madara go and leaping out of the way.

"Oh yeah? Well, why did you attack me first? And I've never seen a woman that can move that fast! You must be a kunoichi!" Madara declared.

"Hey! I take offense to that! I'm a shinobi! And you were the one that attacked me first!" she retaliated, dodging the fireball sent her way.

"Ha! You, a shinobi? No way!" Madara shot back.

"Oi… are you sure we should be fighting her? She looks much older than us…" Hashirama called out uncertainly.

"Oh yes you will be. We'll talk once I beat you into the ground." Sakura snarled, eyeing the boy in front of her.

Silence filled the forest before the three figures sprung into action.

The pink haired medic leaned over the two panting figures.

"Nice spar. Next time, think before you decide to call me not a shinobi." Sakura exclaimed cheerily, grinning down at the prone forms of Hashirama and Madara.

There was something powerful about being able to best the founders of Konoha.

"Wow… You sure are strong…" Hashirama panted.

"Sakura. My name is Sakura, and you better use it!" she exclaimed, grin splitting her face, eye wrinkling into a curve.

It hurt.

It hurt to try to be a person she was not. The cheer should belong to Naruto. The smile should belong to Kakashi. But now that she was alone, she would have live on. If not for herself, for them. For the possibility to change the future. To protect her precious person with the opportunity she received.

Because she was Haruno Sakura, and she came back to the beginning to change everything.


End file.
